The Proclaimer

"Armageddon" and "Hell"

Today many believe and teach that there will be one last horrific battle fought here upon the earth between good and evil known as the battle of Armageddon.  It is a battle that will occur just prior (or subsequent) to the 1000 year reign of Christ on the throne of David in the Temple in Jerusalem.  Interestingly enough, like the 1000 year reign, Armageddon is mentioned specifically in only one chapter of the Bible, Revelation 16:13-16.  This reference describes a scene in which frogs come forth from the mouths of creatures to do battle for the devil, the result of which is a war in which there are 200,000 horsemen and a river of blood 200 miles long.  Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it?  Well, it is.

To begin with, we must remember that while most view the book of Revelation as a book of prophecy, it is in reality, a book of history, for it deals with “things which must shortly take place” (Rev. 1:1). Not only so, these events were “signified,” that is, written in signs or symbolic language.  Consequently, Christ reveals a vision to John concerning real events that were to happen in the lives of first century Christians masked in a cloak of figurative language. Understanding this, the language of Revelation 16 describes a real conflict between good and evil that existed in the first century as Rome persecuted faithful disciples of Christ.

Exactly what is Armageddon (Har-Magedon)?  The Hebrew word “har” was used loosely to refer to “hill” or “hill country.”  The hill of Megiddo was approximately 70 feet high in John’s day in the vicinity of the Carmel range.  It was here, in the Valley of Jezreel where a number of famous battles were fought that historically stood as a battleground between the forces of good and evil.  It was here that Deborah and Barak defeated the Canaanites (Jdg. 4:15), Gideon defeated the Midianites (Jdg. 7), and Saul was defeated by the Philistines (1 Sam. 31:8).

It needs to be recognized, however, that in speaking of Armageddon, or the hill of Megiddo, that John is not alluding to a literal place.  Instead, Armageddon stands symbolically for the battleground where Satan and his army are destroyed and overcome by Christ.  The entire message of Revelation was intended to encourage Christians to remain faithful in the midst of enormous pressures to worship the emperor of Rome.  John wrote to inspire first century disciples to endure horrific persecution intended to force them into emperor worship.  Armageddon describes this battle.  So when Rome fell and false emperor worship ceased, the battle of Armageddon was over.

To understand this, consider that the use of geographical points to emphasize spiritual truths is a common Biblical phenomenon.  For instance, the word “hell” (gahenna in Greek) relates to the Hebrew gehinnom which was the valley of Hinnom just south of Jerusalem.  It was in this valley the Jews offered their children as burnt sacrifices to pagan gods.  Because of its connection with such events, Hinnom eventually became the city dump of Jerusalem in which fires burned constantly in an attempt to destroy the refuse.  Consequently, because of its connection with suffering and pain and constant burning, gehenna became a symbol for the final punishment of hell. 

It is just as absurd to believe that there will be a literal battle of Armageddon fought in the Valley of Jezreel as it is to believe that on the Day of Judgment God will cast the wicked in the literal valley of Hinnom just south of Jerusalem.  The fact is, those fires went out centuries ago.

                                                                                                   -- Clark Dugger

The Proclaimer